Floor board

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is an improved floor board. The floor board includes a side female fitting part having a recess, an end male fitting part and an end female fitting part allowing snap coupling, and a foam hot-melt adhesive having superior restoring capability, thus overcoming problems of a conventional floor board. That is, this invention prevents height differences from being formed between floor boards due to the unevenness of a floor, when the floor boards are assembled in a length direction thereof, and prevents the floor boards from becoming deformed or damaged, during widthwise slanted coupling. Further, this invention minimizes noise transmitted between layers of the floor boards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to improved floor boards and, more particularly, to a floor board for ondol floors, which is constructed so that adjacent floor boards are flexibly joined in a width direction thereof, and are coupled in a length direction thereof through horizontal snap coupling, thus increasing workability and reinforcing sound insulating capability.

2. Description of the Related Art

Prefabricated floor boards, having convex tongues and concave grooves at edges thereof, have been widely used. Since it is very easy to install the floor boards, this can be carried out by the average handy person. These floor boards are usually provided with a surface layer, such as lacquer or some kind of laminate. An earlier patent disclosure dealing with the floor board is found in Korean Patent No. 394968, which was disclosed by the inventor of this invention and is titled “floor board for ondol floor or the like”. The floor board of this patent is manufactured using unit boards. According to this patent, a side male fitting part and a side female fitting part are respectively provided on opposite side ends in a length direction of the floor board. Further, an end male fitting part and an end female fitting part are provided on opposite edges in a width direction of the floor board. A synthetic rubber hot-melt adhesive is applied to a surface of the floor board, with a film separator being attached to the adhesive. During installation, the side male fitting part of one floor board engages with the side female fitting part of an adjacent floor board which has previously been installed. Simultaneously, the end male fitting part of the floor board engages with the end female fitting part of an adjacent floor board which has previously been installed. At this time, the hot-melt adhesive attached to a surface of the floor board adheres to a floor. The present invention relates to the above-mentioned patent No. 394968. Further, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-101827 has been proposed, which is titled “flooring material, comprising board shaped floor elements which are intended to be joined vertically”. The flooring material of this document includes floor boards having a square, rectangular or rhomboidal shape. The flooring material is characterized in that each floor board is provided with edges, a horizontal lower surface, and a decorative horizontal upper surface, and includes lower joining lips at two adjacent edges and upper joining lips at the two remaining edges. Further, the lower joining lips comprise vertical lower lip surfaces arranged parallel to the closest edge, the lower lip surfaces intended mainly to interact with vertical upper lip surfaces. Thereby, two joined adjacent floor boards are locked together in a horizontal direction. Further, the joining lips are provided with horizontal locking surfaces, so that the flooring material includes recesses to limit vertical movement between two joined adjacent floor boards, and one or more heels intended to be snap joined to the recesses.

However, the cited inventions dealing with widthwise snap coupling have a structural problem of tongues and grooves, when a base floor board is joined to an adjacent floor board in a width direction. In a detailed description, physical friction inevitably occurs between the tongues and the grooves having angled shapes, so that the tongues and the grooves may be deformed during the widthwise coupling operation, and workability is considerably low. Further, a hook coupling method adapted to join floor boards together in a length direction is problematic in that, when the floor boards are installed on an uneven floor, a height difference may occur between the floor boards due to the unevenness of the floor. Furthermore, the hot-melt adhesive applied to the lower surface of the floor board insufficiently absorbs vibration and noise, so that the sound insulating capability thereof is poor.

Therefore, the inventor of the present invention makes attempts to improve the structure of the sides and edges of floor boards, thus affording easy installation, when a base floor board is joined to an adjacent floor board. As a result, the present invention is achieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an improved floor board, which is manufactured using a board obtained by attaching decorative veneer, high pressure melamine (HPM), or low pressure melamine (LPM) to a base plate, for example, plywood, wood, a high density fiber board, or a particle board, and is constructed so that a hot-melt adhesive, containing synthetic rubber foam or polypropylene foam having enhanced restoring capacity such that the floor board is suitable for an ondol board with respect to thermal properties, is attached to a lower surface of the floor board, and a film separator is attached to the hot-melt adhesive so as to preserve its adhering capability. A side female fitting part is provided at a side of a floor board in a length direction thereof, and has a downward recess. The downward recess is downwardly curved in an arc form, and is upwardly inclined at a predetermined position of the arc. Further, an end male fitting part and an end female fitting part allowing snap coupling are provided on opposite edges in a width direction of the floor board. Such a construction allows floor boards to be joined together without using an additional adhesive, and prevents variation of gaps between floor boards, thus overcoming the fundamental drawback of wood, therefore affording dimensional stability. Further, this invention allows the floor boards to be easily installed on a concrete floor, in addition to affording easy partial maintenance or reconstruction. A material having sound insulating or absorbing capability is used for the floor board of this invention, thus reducing noise. This invention may also be employed for an ondol floor. Particularly, it is possible to join floor boards together through slanted snap coupling without changing the structure of the floor boards in a width direction thereof. Further, it is possible to join floor boards together in a length direction thereof through horizontal snap coupling.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a floor board, which is manufactured using a unit board obtained by integrally attaching decorative veneer, HPM, or LPM to upper and lower portions of a base plate, for example, plywood, wood, a high density fiber board, or a particle board through cold or hot pressing, and by subsequently cutting the attached board to a predetermined length and width. A side male fitting part is provided at a side in a length direction of the floor board, and a side female fitting part is provided at the other side and has a downward recess which is downwardly curved in an arc form and is upwardly inclined at a predetermined position of the arc. An end male fitting part is provided at an edge in a width direction of the floor board, and has a downward protrusion. An end female fitting part is provided at the other edge in the width direction of the floor board, and has a downward recess to engage with the downward protrusion. Further, a hot-melt adhesive containing synthetic rubber foam is applied to a lower surface of the floor board, with a film separator being attached to the adhesive. During installation, the side male fitting part is locked to the side female fitting part of an adjacent floor board which has previously been installed, while being inclined relative to the side female fitting part. Simultaneously, the end male fitting part, provided at an edge of the floor board, engages with the end female fitting part through horizontal snap coupling. Further, the hot-melt adhesive attached to the lower surface of the floor board is adhered to a floor. This invention may be adapted to an ondol floor.

Herein, ‘length direction’ is defined as a long axis direction of a rectangular floor board, while ‘width direction’ is defined as a short axis direction of the floor board. Further, ‘both sides’ or ‘both side ends’ are defined as both surfaces of the long axis of the floor board, while ‘both end surfaces’ or ‘both edges’ are defined as both surfaces of the short axis of the floor board. Meanwhile, when this invention is adapted to a square floor board, ‘length direction’ or ‘width direction’ are defined as the directions of respective surfaces that are at right angles to each other.

In the floor board of this invention constructed as described above, the side male fitting part and the side female fitting part provided on both sides flexibly secure floor boards in a width direction thereof, so that they may be continuously joined together. Further, the hot-melt adhesive attached to the lower surface of the floor board contacts a floor, thus allowing the floor boards to be easily joined together, while the floor boards are in close contact with each other. Furthermore, the end male fitting part and the end female fitting part provided on both edges of the floor panel serve to join the floor boards in. a length direction thereof through snap coupling. The foam hot-melt adhesive containing synthetic rubber as a main component is a solvent-free adhesive which is harmless to the human body. The adhesive functions to attach the floor board to a concrete floor having a relatively rough surface. Further, the adhesive serves to adapt the floor board made of wood to variation in the wood, for example, the contraction or expansion of wood due to heating conditions or variation in moisture content. The hot-melt adhesive layer containing synthetic rubber foam absorbs or insulates noise generated during walking, thus providing enhanced sound absorbing capability and sound insulating capability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a floor board shown from a width direction thereof, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a coupling method of the floor board of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a floor board shown from a length direction thereof, according to another embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a coupling method of the floor board of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a floor board shown from a width direction thereof, according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a coupling method of the floor board of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a floor board shown from a length direction thereof, according to another embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a coupling method of the floor board of FIG. 3.

<First Embodiment>

According to the preferred embodiment of this invention, a floor board includes a side male fitting part and a side female fitting part on both sides in a length direction of the floor board. As shown in FIG. 1, the side male fitting part 15 includes a side tongue 7, a downward protrusion 9, and an upward groove 11. The side tongue 7 protrudes laterally from a middle portion of a side of the floor board, with an arc-shaped curved part provided at an end of the side tongue 7. The downward protrusion 9 is provided on the lower surface of the side tongue 7, and protrudes downwards. The upward groove 11 is provided inside the downward protrusion 9, and is recessed upwards.

The side female fitting part 30 corresponds to the side male fitting part 15, and includes a side horizontal groove 21, a downward recess 23, and an upward protrusion 25. The side horizontal groove 21 is recessed inwards from a middle portion of the other side of the floor board, with an arc-shaped curved part provided at an inside end of the side horizontal groove 21. The downward recess 23 extends from a lower end of the side horizontal groove 21 in such a way as to be downwardly inclined, and is recessed at a predetermined position in an arc form. The upward protrusion 25 extends from an outside portion of the downward recess 23 in such a way as to protrude upwards. According to this invention, the downward recess 23 extends from the upward protrusion 25 to the side horizontal groove 21 in such a way as to be downwardly recessed in an arc form. At a predetermined position of the arc-shaped downward recess 23, the downward recess 23 is upwardly inclined and extends to the side horizontal groove 21. In a detailed description, the downward recess 23 extends from a position where an angle between an imaginary line 28 perpendicularly crossing the arc of the downward recess 23 and a horizontal imaginary line forms an initial inclination angle 26, while maintaining an inclination angle 27. The initial inclination angle is 55° to 65°, and is preferably 60°. The inclination angle is 25° to 35°, and is preferably 30°. Thus, when the downward protrusion 9 engages with the downward recess 23 so as to join the floor boards together, friction between the downward protrusion 9 and the downward recess 23 caused by the angled shape of a conventional floor board is prevented, thus allowing the floor boards to be smoothly joined together, therefore enhancing workability, and preventing the downward protrusion 9 from being damaged or broken.

<Second Embodiment>

According to the preferred embodiment of this invention, a floor board includes an end male fitting part and an end female fitting part on both edges in a width direction of the floor board. As shown in FIG. 3, the end male fitting part 90 protrudes outwards from the middle portion of one edge of the floor board, with a downward protrusion 119 provided on a lower surface of the end male fitting part 90. The end female fitting part 130 corresponds to the end male fitting part 90, and is recessed inwards from the middle portion of the other edge of the floor board. A downward recess 123 is provided inside the end female fitting part 130 and extends downwards. Further, a hot-melt adhesive 50 containing synthetic rubber foam is attached to a lower surface of the floor board. A film separator (not shown) is attached to the hot-melt adhesive 50, thus preventing the adhesive from hardening. The end male fitting part 90 includes a horizontal upper surface 110, a vertical end surface 111, and a downward protrusion 119. The horizontal upper surface 110 protrudes outwards from the middle portion of an edge of the floor board. The vertical end surface 111 extends perpendicularly from a predetermined position of the horizontal upper surface 110. The downward protrusion 119 extends from the vertical end surface 111. In this case, the downward protrusion 119 is downwardly inclined to form a predetermined insertion angle 120, and is upwardly inclined to form a predetermined locking angle 121. The insertion angle 120 is about 10° to 20° relative to a surface extending parallel to the horizontal upper surface 110. Preferably, the insertion angle 120 is 160. Further, the locking angle 121 is about 40° to 50° relative to a surface extending parallel to the horizontal upper surface. Preferably, the locking angle 121 is 45°. The downward protrusion 119, having the predetermined insertion angle and the predetermined locking angle, is locked to the downward recess 123 provided in the end female fitting part 130 which is formed in the middle portion of an edge of an adjacent floor board. Meanwhile, the end female fitting part 130, which is recessed inwards from the middle portion of the other edge, includes a horizontal inner surface 149, a vertical inner surface 150, the downward recess 123, and an upward protrusion 125. In this case, the vertical inner surface 150 extends perpendicularly from a predetermined position on the horizontal inner surface 149. The downward recess 123 extends outwards from the vertical inner surface 150, and is provided on a lower surface of the end female fitting part 130 in such a way as to be downwardly recessed. The upward protrusion 125 extends outwards from the downward recess 123, and protrudes upwards. A side of the upward protrusion 125 has the same angle as the locking angle 121, while the other side of the upward protrusion 125 has a predetermined guide angle 160. Preferably, the guide angle 160 is 30° relative to a surface extending parallel to the horizontal inner surface 149. The guide angle 160 reduces physical impacts or friction caused by the upper protrusion 125, when the end male fitting part 90 of an adjacent floor board is guided into the end female fitting part 130, thus affording smooth locking action.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lengthwise coupling of the floor board according to this embodiment may be realized not through slanted coupling but through horizontal coupling. When the vertical end surface 111 of the end male fitting part 90 of one floor board horizontally approaches the end female fitting part 130 of an adjacent floor board which has previously been installed, the lower end of the vertical end surface 111 temporarily collides with the outside portion of the upward protrusion 125. However, impacts caused by the collision between the vertical end surface 111 and the upward protrusion 125 may be reduced due to the gentle inclination resulting from the guide angle 160 existing at a side of the upward protrusion 125, and the elasticity of the upward protrusion 125. Thereby, the end male fitting part 90 may be smoothly inserted into the end female fitting part 130. Consequently, the horizontal upper surface 110 of the end male fitting part 90 is in surface contact with the horizontal inner surface 149 of the end female fitting part 130, and the vertical end surface 111 of the end male fitting part 90 is in surface contact with the vertical inner surface 150 of the end female fitting part 130. Further, the downward protrusion 119 of the end male fitting part 90 is seated in the downward recess 123 of the end female fitting part. Thereafter, the upward protrusion 125 serves to firmly lock the end male fitting part 90 to the end female fitting part 130.

Further, as the end male fitting part 90 is inserted into the end female fitting part 130 of an adjacent floor board which has previously been installed, as shown in FIG. 2, an edge of the side male fitting part 15 abuts an edge of the side female fitting part 30 of an adjacent floor board which has previously been installed. When the floor board rotates about the junction of the edge of the side male fitting part 15 and the edge of the side female fitting part 30, the side tongue 7 of the side male fitting part 15 is inserted into the side horizontal groove 21 of the side female fitting part 30 of an adjacent floor board which has previously been installed, and the downward protrusion 9 is inserted into the downward recess 23 of the side female fitting part 30. In this case, the downward recess 23 has the shape of an arc, and extends obliquely from a position of the arc. Further, the upward protrusion 25 of the side female fitting part 30 is inserted into the upward groove 11. The hot-melt adhesive 50, attached to a lower surface of the floor board, adheres to the floor, while the side male fitting part 15 is inserted into the side female fitting part 30 of an adjacent floor board which has previously been installed. In this way, the floor boards are installed to the floor.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

As described above, the present invention provides a floor board, which includes a side female fitting part having an arc-shaped recess, an end male fitting part and an end female fitting part allowing snap coupling, and a foam hot-melt adhesive having superior restoring capability, thus overcoming problems of a conventional floor board. That is, this invention prevents height differences from being formed between floor boards due to the unevenness of a floor, when the floor boards are assembled in a length direction thereof, and prevents the floor boards from becoming deformed or damaged, during widthwise slanted coupling. Further, this invention minimizes noise transmitted between layers of the floor boards. 

1. A floor board, comprising: a side male fitting part provided on a first side of the floor board, and having a side tongue; a side female fitting part provided on a second side of the floor board, and having a side downward recess; an end male fitting part protruding outwards from a first edge of the floor board, with an end downward protrusion projecting downwards from a lower surface of the end male fitting part; an end female fitting part corresponding to the end male fitting part, and being recessed inwards from a middle portion of a second edge of the floor board, with an end downward recess provided on a lower surface of the end female fitting part in such a way as to be downwardly recessed; and a hot-melt adhesive attached to a lower surface of the floor board.
 2. The floor board as set forth in claim 1, wherein a first side of the end downward protrusion is downwardly inclined to form a predetermined insertion angle, and a second side of the end downward protrusion is upwardly inclined to form a predetermined locking angle.
 3. The floor board as set forth in claim 1, wherein the predetermined insertion angle is about 10° to 20°, and the predetermined locking angle is about 40° to 50°.
 4. The floor board as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: an end upward protrusion extending outwards from the end downward recess and projecting upwards, a side of the end upward protrusion having a guide angle of about 30°.
 5. The floor board as set forth in claim 1, wherein the side downward recess extends toward a side horizontal groove in such a way as to be downwardly curved in a form of an arc, and is upwardly inclined at a predetermined position on the arc. 